Hear In Private Practice

by Mike Metz After a couple of go-rounds on this topic, it lends itself to even more consideration.  What if the manufacturers and the big-box retailers do nothing and continue selling locked hearing aids?  What would be a likely result if all manufacturers unlocked all software?  What would result from actions in the “middle ground” between these extremes?  And, who

by Mike Metz A short time ago, I wrote a post regarding lack of access to the software of some hearing aids.  My comments arose from conversations with other dispensing audiologists.  They saw patients that were having problems with hearing aids purchased from large distributors — Big Box stores primarily.  Evidently, patients believed that they were not getting sufficient benefits from

 by Steve Eagon, MA   In part 1 of this two-part series, I mentioned how we’ve all heard about the Baby-Boomers flooding our offices, and the unique challenges they bring.  In this article, I’m going to make suggestions based upon what I’ve seen from various hearing care professionals around North America who are addressing these Boomer characteristics.  These new approaches

Earl Harford, Ph.D. died September 24, 2016 at his home in Tucson, Arizona.  Dr. Harford was well known for his professional and academic career in Audiology which began at McGill University. He then spent seventeen years at Northwest­ern University where he taught, mentored, and published with luminaries in our profession including Raymond Carhart, Jim Jerger, Bill Rintelmann, Fred Bess, Joe

by Mike Metz, PhD   Consider the success of the “Big Box” sales of hearing aids. Costco alone has become the second largest dispensing entity of hearing instruments in the US, and just lowered the cost of their premium Kirkland 7.0 instruments.  What do you suppose is their return-for-credit rate?  No matter which of the three possibilities—better, less, or the

By Mara Brugés Polo – Editor-in-Chief of Audio Infos Latin America Recent years have seen the country of Peru taking steps towards increasingly better care of its hearing loss patients, with not only the government making an effort, but private firms also launching their ideas to treat hypoacusic cases. Although Peru passed its universal neonatal screening programme law in 2012,

By Steve Eagon, MA Given the work I do, I frequently interact with and train hearing professionals on a variety of practice management issues. A hot topic among many these days is the changing consumer dynamic over the past 5-10 years. When I ask professionals what they notice about today’s mature consumer, it usually centers around a few key observations. They are

By Chelle Wyatt   At a recent meeting of my local chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), Susan Naidu, an audiologist at the University of Utah, spoke about auditory fatigue, also called listener fatigue or cognitive energy fatigue. According to Susan, this “real condition is not discussed or researched enough.” It isn’t clinically recognized but many professionals

by Mike Metz   Remember the theories of trickle-down economics from some of those old time politicians of 30-40 years ago?  Did anyone every figure out what was wrong about these ideas?  How much trickled down?  Are there lessons that can be mined from these theories? A friend of mine constantly tells me that we should sue our graduate programs

  By Mara Brugés Polo   Is vertigo properly diagnosed? During Colombia’s Otology Week in Bogotá, a workshop was held on vestibular disorders with a practical approach. Mexican otorhinolaryngologist Jorge Madrigal, founder and medical director of the MedBalanZ Clinic, directed this session and explained the physiological foundations and the technique involved in the vHIT (Video Head Impulse Test), which consists of